Watch the Trailer for ‘Guerrilla,’ ’12 Years a Slave’ Screenwriter John Ridley’s Series About Political Resistance in 1970s England

Guerrilla, Showtime/Sky Atlantic’s upcoming series from 12 Years aSlave/American Crime writer John Ridley (who, beyond producing, wrote and directed many of the episode) has its first trailer.

Guerrilla is being dubbed by the network an “event series,” which usually means that there’s potential for renewal — but could also mean it’s just a miniseries. So, it’s nearly meaningless!

Right now, at least, Guerrilla is six episodes long, and follows a couple — played by Freida Pinto and Babou Ceesay — who liberate and shelter a political prisoner in 1970s London. With him, they form a small, radical group that targets Special Branch’s “black power desk” — a unit of the government organization whose sole purpose was to stifle black activism. The series traces the shifts and pressures within the couple’s relationship as their ideologies also morph — and become activated — along with what’s going on around them.

Idris Elba, who is one of the executive producers, also stars (and shows up midway through the trailer). Watch the trailer: